Humana Launches Mobile App Designed to Improve Health and Social Engagement for Employers
The app, Goal Guru, can increase employee well-being through wellness tracking, digital coaching and friendly competition
Humana Inc., one of the country’s leading health and well-being companies, has launched Goal Guru, an iOS and Android-compatible mobile app and web experience designed to help employers take a holistic approach to improving the overall health of employees.
Goal Guru, which gathers data from a multitude of trackers and mobile apps, allows users to participate in competitions and engage each other through wellness tracking, challenges and 24/7 interaction with a digital coach. Through the app, employers provide an easy-to-use resource conducive to improving the activity level of their employees through the monitoring of steps, weight and sleep. Users receive personalized news feeds throughout the day and can increase engagement by messaging a team or individuals to initiate a challenge.
“Humana is happy to provide employers with resources, like Goal Guru, that focus on the importance of employees’ physical, financial, mental and social health,” said Kristine Mullen, Vice President of Wellness for Humana. “The app allows users to socially motivate or ‘nudge’ each other to influence positive behaviors and healthy habits. Services like this give us valuable information on employees, their health care costs and overall employer satisfaction so that we can ensure they are receiving the best resources possible.”
Research finds that employees in organizations that support a culture of wellness tend to derive greater benefit from participation in wellness programs. This is particularly the case in terms of increased engagement in employer mission and goals, stress and overall happiness or well-being. For example, a joint Humana/University of Michigan study found that 67 percent of employees found participation in wellness programs increased their engagement in their employer’s mission and goals.
In a separate study with The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), Humana found that employers who establish a defined workplace culture of wellness can achieve widespread positive impact on the health and productivity of their employees while increasing engagement in company mission and goals. The study surveyed more than 200 U.S.-based human resources (HR) executives and managers and 500 full-time employees from organizations with employer-provided wellness programs.
Goal Guru aims to take a broader approach to meeting the need for wellness programs and improving overall well-being by focusing on a holistic perspective on health, including physical, social, emotional and financial components.
Key features of Goal Guru include:
- Challenges, sorted by physical, social, financial and emotional types, provide employers with the opportunity to increase competition in the workplace, thereby strengthening social interaction and employee motivation. Participants can earn stars as they reach well-being milestones.
- The 24/7 digital coach, available for an additional cost, can further enhance fitness goals and aid in getting active, managing weight and training for events. The virtual coach provides users with automated text conversations, guidance and motivation that correlate with the user’s goals and activity feedback.
- Employee social engagement is easy with users’ newsfeed-like dashboards, which track fellow co-workers’ accomplishments and competition progress. The app lets co-workers engage with each other through friendly competition and motivation.
- Engagement Source is an online resource for the employer that will accompany the Goal Guru purchase. The Engagement Source provides a wealth of information for clients to reference to guide them when building a culture of health in their organization.
In addition to businesses, Goal Guru can provide optimal health benefits for schools, conferences or special events. The app, which is not exclusively tied to any health plans, is available for 30-day, 90-day or one-year contracts to accommodate individual business needs. Goal Guru adds to Humana’s robust solutions to improving company well-being by offering additional choices for clients.